Pitt All-American Blair to declare for NBA draft

PITTSBURGH 
DeJuan Blair guaranteed Pitt coach Jamie Dixon a year ago that he would play a full college career. One exceptional season changed all that.

Blair said Wednesday he will declare for the NBA draft and has begun hiring representatives, ending any possibility that the All-America center could return for his junior season.

Blair is projected as a mid- to late first-round pick, but his status could change – for better or worse – once he goes through the NBA's various pre-draft workouts. Blair plans to hire an agent within the next several weeks, and has retained Pittsburgh attorney James Cook to handle him in marketing and advertising matters.

Blair, the only Pitt player in the last 50 years to make first-team All-America, could have returned to Pitt next season if he didn't hire an agent or any other representative, but retaining Cook means Blair no longer has that option.

"There ain't no turning back," said Blair, who initially planned to leave his options open but decided only in the last few days that he was turning pro regardless. "I don't think you should have gone into this situation unless you know you're a first-round pick or not. I'm guaranteed of (being) a first-round pick, and I'm going to work hard to get to where I want to be. I control my destination and I'll be all right."

Asked what guarantees him of being a first-rounder with the draft 2 1/2 months off and teams still evaluating talent, Blair said, "I'm an Internet freak and I go on all the draft boards, and nobody's got me going second round. That's almost guaranteed to me."

Only the day before, Dixon warned about relying on such mock drafts, saying, "They're largely inaccurate, but fun to talk about."

Blair's decision also is a gamble partly because he has twice undergone reconstructive knee surgery, a red flag for NBA teams seeking durability in a league where teams play more than twice as many games per season as college teams do.

Also, his weight as been a problem in the past – the 6-foot-7 Blair weighed more than 300 pounds in high school, but now is about 260.

"I had to do what's best for me," said Blair, who doesn't want to risk another knee injury in college. "No one else made the decision but me. ... I've heard all the downfalls about me being too big or me being too small. That's just motivation. ... I'm not going to tell them what I can do in the NBA, I'm going to show them what I can do."

Several dozen family members whispered words of encouragement as Blair spoke, with ex-teammates and former Pitt stars such as Brandin Knight and Sam Clancy gathered in a crowded interview room to hear his remarks.

"I think he's an NBA player," Dixon said of Blair, who grew up about a half-mile from Pitt's campus. "I told him that from the time we recruited him. I've always had a higher opinion of him than most scouting services and coaches and most media observers. I always thought of him as an NBA player."